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Washington Street Grand Opening

Press Release - For Immediate Release

October 6th, 2017

Rossland, BC - The City of Rossland is very pleased to announce the official grand opening of the Washington Street upgrade project.

This important infrastructure project helped to ensure that critical underground water, sewer and storm mains will serve Rossland more efficiently for decades to come. "I am very happy to report that the project was completed on time and on budget," said Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore. "Due to the diligent and thorough pre‐construction work that was undertaken to ascertain the location of bedrock, mine shafts and other complications, there were no significant and costly surprises as the project progressed".

The project was under budget partially due to quantity under‐runs (deletions of runs of pipes/manholes at side streets/alleys), but primarily due to the over estimation of anticipated bedrock. The pre‐tender bedrock investigation works (vactor/drill holes and ground penetrating radar) identified a lot of bedrock. During construction it was discovered that much this rock was boulders and did not require removal via breaking or blasting but instead was removed with conventional trenching methods. Due to this, it is forecasted that the city will end up using less than half of the 10% contingency allowance in the budget.

In total 1,124m of water, 720m of sewer and 760m of storm pipe were installed as well as 9,000 m2 of asphalt road surface along with new bike lanes, a multiuse path, sidewalks, boulevard restoration and street lighting. To provide for the installation of high‐speed telecommunications fibre, conduit was included to prepare for the future internet needs of the community.

"Since the soft completion of the project in the fall of 2016, we have heard numerous and wonderful compliments about the work crews completing the project," said Moore. "We have also received positive feedback on the new infrastructure and its improvement to the form and function of this main city corridor".

The design was intended to increase the safety of the route in several ways including narrowing the roadway for cars and creating bump outs to allow traffic to naturally slow. By closing side streets like 4th and making 6th one way only as well as the addition of sidewalks, bike lanes and the multi‐use pathway; the road will be much safer for pedestrians, especially school children attending Rossland Summit School.

The project was funded in part by the New Building Canada Fund – Small Communities Fund grant for the water main, which totalled $2,181,700 and was shared equally by the Federal and Provincial governments, a Bike BC grant for $226,026 for the bike lanes and multi‐use path, and an ICBC grant for road safety features in the amount of $40,300. The remainder of the funds came from reserves and borrowing.

"The Government of Canada is supporting strategic infrastructure projects to protect public health and lay a strong foundation for economic growth and middle‐class job creation," said the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. "We’re very pleased to have contributed to the new water main under Washington Street, which will ensure residents and visitors to this beautiful community have ongoing access to clean drinking water for years to come."

"Congratulations to the City of Rossland on the completion of the Washington Street upgrade project. No community can function without dependable water infrastructure, and our government is committed to ensuring that all communities in B.C. have access to the water they need," said Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. "Through this partnership between all levels of government, Rossland was able to replace the 100‐year‐old water main with a newer, more reliable infrastructure that will meet the needs of the community today and into the future."

"We are particularly grateful to our funding partners, and the patience of the community through construction," said Moore. "This was the biggest infrastructure grant Rossland has received at the time and without the support of these grant program, we could not have moved this essential project forward."

The official ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completed project will be held on Friday, October 6, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at 2nd Ave and Washington. All are welcome to attend.